26. Adrianna #2
"He is going to be okay, Addy. He is the most hardheaded out of the bunch. You will see. He will be out on the ice in no time, " she says, and I let the tears fall.
"Let's go, Addy." Liam takes my hand and then Mia's, and we walk into the ER doors behind Luka. The Doctor is talking to someone in the ER, and as soon as Liam walks in, she takes one look at him and nods to the Doctor. Grabbing Luka's stretcher, she pushes it through double doors, and he is gone.
"What did she say?" Liam asks the Doc when he walks over.
"She said that, from what the paramedics saw, he took a blow to the head.
That is what has caused the bleeding. There also looks like blunt force trauma to his sides, back, and chest. Like he was kicked while he was on the ground.
" I can't feel my legs anymore and drop to the ground.
Before Mia can bend down to me, Liam drops down to his knees and puts his arm around my shoulder, pulling me against him.
"Anything else, Doc?"
"Nothing yet. I will keep you updated." Doc turns and walks through the double doors and I close my eyes.
It felt like hours, but it was mere minutes before I felt someone pick me up. "Luka?" I tried to open my eyes, but they burned against the light.
"No, Addy. It's just me." I feel the vibration of Callum's voice against my cheek.
"Callum? When did you get here?" He sets me down on a chair and I open my eyes.
Nina and Matteo sit next to me. Nina's eyes are a deep red and I know she has been crying as much as I have.
I can't help but crash into her arms when she holds them open for me.
"What if he doesn't wake up? What are we supposed to do? " I sob against her chest.
"Shhh, Cara. It's okay. He is going to be just fine. Luka has always been a little dramatic. I am sure he will wake up soon." She runs her hands down my hair.
"Addy!" I look up to see my best friend running through the ER doors. She runs to me and kneels before me. I look past her and see Jake, Kincade, and Maddie walking into the ER, too. Maddie still has blood on her hands. I squeeze Penelope's shoulders and stand up, walking over to Maddie.
"You saved his life, Madison. Thank you." I wrap my arms around her and can feel her body shake against mine.
"What if I didn't find him in time?" She whispers and I shake my head.
"You did, though. You found him in time." I smile at her, then to Kincade and then Jake.
CeCe appears beside me. "Come on, Maddie, let's go get you cleaned up.
" She pulls Madison toward the bathroom, and I take a minute to look around the ER.
We have only been here a little while, and the room is full of Luka's family and friends.
Even Skee and Augie have shown up. Lacey has Layla and Gio sitting over on the side with some game systems. I walk over to her and take her hand.
"Are you okay, Lacey?"
"I am here, with my family, for however long I have you guys. I am going to hold onto it." I nod to her because I get it. I want to hold onto this family as long as I can also.
I watch Liam, Cross, Romeo, and Callum walk Coach and Jake to the side of the room. Not long after, Mr. C joins them. I walk over to them and step between Cross and Liam. Kincade stops talking and looks from Liam to me.
"Continue." I wave my hand at him. "I want to know what happened. Who did this?"
Kincade looks to Liam again, who nods. "Go ahead, Dean."
"We have pulled the footage. It was three guys.
All in hoodies and masks. We aren't sure who they are.
" Dean says and holds out his phone. We watch as Luka walks out of the arena.
He tips his head back and yells something, but there is no sound.
Before he looks back down, the guys come around the corner and one punches him in the face.
I gasp and cover my mouth with my hand when Luka falls to the ground.
He covers his head when the assholes start kicking him.
Tears fall down my cheeks as I watch Luka fight them off.
He is kicking his legs out, trying to hit them.
One guy starts stomping Luka's side and I can feel Liam's hands ball into fists.
Something must have spooked them because they all look toward the road.
One guy pulls his leg back and slams his foot into the back of Luka's head.
I watch his head snap forward and then he goes still.
I don't hold the sob back. I start crying so hard I am shaking.
Romeo comes and stands behind me, placing his hands on my shoulders to keep me steady.
"It's okay, Addy. We will find them." Cross says beside me, but I can hear the anger in his voice. The men in the video turn and run around the corner.
"Wait!" I shout so loud everyone in the ER goes quiet.
"What is the matter, Addy?" Liam looks down at me.
"Back the video up." I point to Kincade's phone. "Dean, back the fucking video up." I go to grab the phone, but he grips it and turns it to him. Backing it up some, he turns it back to me.
"What did you see, Addy?" Callum asks as they all get closer and I find the spot on the video I am looking for.
I finally find it and pause it. "I knew it!
" I start pointing to the phone. The video is paused, and one of the guys pushes up his hoodie before they run off.
His arm tattoo is just visible for a second, but I knew I saw it.
"That tattoo. I know that tattoo." I point to the phone again. "Tucker's brother has that tattoo."
"Tucker?" Jake says from beside Kincade. "Why would Tucker's brothers be here? They live in North Carolina."
"Are you sure, Addy?" Liam looks at me.
"I am positive. The asshole cornered me outside the bathroom at Luka's game in North Carolina. I would recognize that tattoo anywhere. I remember thinking it was the ugliest thing I had ever seen." It was a tattoo of a winged creature with a mermaid tail and Medusa head.
"Find them." Liam turns to Cross. "I want them at the warehouse, now."
Cross nods to Liam and slaps Romeo's back. "Let's go hunting, Romeo. Call us with an update." Cross says to Liam and they head out the door. Skee and Mr. C walk out with them. I am sure they will all be looking for the assholes and I hope they find them.
"Adrianna." I hear Matteo call my name and spin to see the Doc and the woman he was talking to walk out the double doors. I run over to stand by Luka's parents. The woman looks at me.
"I am his wife," I tell her before she says anything else. I don't dare look at Nina or Matteo; I am afraid their shocked looks will give me away. But I feel Nina take my hand and squeeze it. Matteo's hand lands on my shoulder.
"Tell us how our boy is doing, Doc," Matteo says. Doc nods to him and motions for the female to talk.
"He lost a lot of blood. It's only because head wounds bleed a lot.
We were able to stop it. He does have some staples in his head that look worse than they are.
He has some broken ribs from the blows he took but no internal bleeding.
I can take you back there to see him whenever you are ready.
We are getting a larger room in the wing upstairs ready for him; until then, we can only allow two or three people at a time. "
"Is he awake?" Nina asks the Doc and he shakes his head.
"No, not yet." He answers her.
"Why not?" Liam comes and stands beside us.
"We aren't sure. There is no swelling or bleeding. His body just hasn't woken up yet. It could be any minute or a few days. We will continue to run brain scans to keep watch on it." The Doc tells Liam.
I turn to look at Nina and Matteo. I hate asking to see him first, but they are his parents, and Liam is going to want to go in.
"I am good waiting out here. Just knowing he is okay is enough for me right now. You guys go in." Matteo squeezes my shoulder and kisses Nina. "Go see your boy, Principessa." He whispers to her and she smiles at him.
We walk into the hospital room, and I have to stop the tears from falling. Luka's big body looks odd in the hospital bed.
"I am waiting for him to jump up and tell us that he is joking," Liam says as we walk over to the bed.
"That is definitely something he would do." Nina laughs.
I lightly place my hand on his cheek and then lightly run my fingers over the bandage around his head. I ignore Liam and Nina talking and drag the chair from the corner to sit beside him. I take his hand into mine, lay my head on top of it and close my eyes.
An hour later, we are moving into a bigger room, and Luka still hasn't woken up.
My neck hurts from leaning over the bed with my head on Luka's arm.
Lacey and Penelope tried getting me to walk down to the cafe with them to get something to drink, but I refused to leave him.
I want to be here when he wakes up. I feel my body being lifted and snap my eyes open.
"What are you doing?" Liam is lifting me off of the chair next to Luka's bed.
"I am moving you to where I would want Mia if I were in Luka's position." He lifts me off of the chair and sets me on the bed beside Luka.
"I don't want to hurt him." I try getting off of the bed, but Liam pushes me back down.
"Lay with him, talk to him. Get him to come back to us, Adrianna. Please." His voice is pleading and his tough exterior is starting to crack.
"Okay," I whisper and lay down next to Luka. I lay my head on his chest and start running my fingertips over where I know his tattoos are, and I start to talk to him.